We Can't Have a Universe With No Yaz
by SparklingP34ch
Summary: Thasmin fanfic Thirteen x yaz. Set in Victorian London, whilst developing a relationship the pair go on the search of Jack the Ripper
1. Chapter 1

Through the frozen damp, and the melting sun we ran. My breath like smoke and her smoke like ash, flying up to the grey sky. Every step was an effort, but worth it. She turned as she ran, the mess of blonde hair obscuring her face. "Almost there" She shouted with a smile, her pipe falling from her lips, she caught it before it hit the floor. We carried on with our journey in silence. It was a comfortable silence, ones that you share with your family watching tv, or when you're scrolling through Twitter next to your partner. It was the type of quiet where you felt alone, yet not lonely, but a silence filled with my exhausted panting. It was strange since Ryan and Graham had left. Like my last piece of home had left too. But this new world was much better, all of these new worlds.

She suddenly stopped and glanced back at me. "Are you ready Yaz?" Her nose red as she spoke. The wooden pipe balanced between her teeth and made her voice clunky.

"Victorian London, lets do it!" As we wandered around the city I got the feeling that she had been here before. In other places she was childish and curious, today she seemed almost comfortable.

I kept feeling people looking at us, at me. I knew why. The Doctor knew why too.

"Is it weird I feel more uncomfortable here than I did in Montgomery?"

She turned to me, "Do you want to go? We could go to a party in 1920s Chicago, or go to the future and meet the first lizard mayor of Europe?" Her suggestions were tempting, but there was no way I was leaving this early.

"No, it's okay! We haven't explored yet!"

She nodded.

Our feet hit the cobbled street in the rhythm of the nearby hammers. The sky was dark grey and smelt of burnt alcohol. The air was heavy, like walking through syrup. "Where are we going?" I asked, watching the bottom of her coat slowly turn from a baby blue to a dirty brown.

"There's someone I want you to meet... I think it's this way" She quickly turned into a dark, cramped alley, the puddles underfoot splashing onto my jeans. "It's been a few hundred years since I've been here. Bit rusty with the directions."

I couldn't help but think of Graham, he would have been saying how wet his feet were and asking if we could slow down so he could take a picture on his phone, even though they always turn out blurry. Once, we went to a 13th century monastery and he accidentally left the flash on. I couldn't help but giggle at the memory of the monks thinking we were demons.

"What you laughing at?" She asked, not stopping.

" Remember Graham and the monks?"

"Oh God yeah. You know I've travelled with a few people, he was the first one to stop and take pictures. Wrong places, mind, and definitely wrong times."

"How long has it been? Like our time. My time. It's hard this. You know what I mean though"

"Well it's hard to explain. Wait, we need to turn right here. Erm yeah so we can't talk about a specific time, but your body, has aged about 2 years. Almost here, I remember that wall." I stopped. 2 years. It didn't seem like 2 minutes.

"Yaz?" I heard her footsteps running back as I started at my own feet.

"Sorry. I just. 2 years? I just never thought it had been that long." Her arm wrapped around me, she was surprisingly warm. "No, it's fine. Just a shock, I suppose."

"Well just think of me, you're a tenth of my age. It's like I'm running around with a baby. Wow that sounds creepy. Anyway, you ready?"

We eventually got there after a few wrong turns, The Doctor insisting it was the scenic route. The sound of her voice saying 2 years still ringing in my head. I still couldn't wrap my head around it.

In front of us was a dark wooden door, her scrunched up fists knocked twice. I asked why she couldn't unlock it, to which she looked at her sonic and screwed up her face, something that I didn't really understand. I never got an answer.

The door opened with a long creak. The warmth from the house immediately hit me. Holding the door ajar was a strong looking brunette woman, her hair tired neatly into a bun, strands of hair resting on either cheek. "Can I help you, ma'am?" her response seemed frosty as she looked us up and down.

"It's freezing out here, Jenny. Don't you recognise me? It's the accent isn't it? I went northern before you know, thought I'd give it another go, take it for a spin. You know how much effort it took for me to create a scottish accent during regeneration? let's just say I'm not going there again."

"Doctor?" The girl, Jenny, immediately moved aside, as we stepped in. The house was quaint and ornately decorated. Pictures hung on the blood red wallpaper, perfectly straight and side by side. She led us down a corridor to a small lounge, we sat on the sofa. "I'll get Vastra." Then she left. It was getting quite warm in the house, the log fire in front of us crackling and dancing, spitting out ashes.

"So how come you wanted me to meet her?"

"Not just her, they are both my friends. Also just to warn you, Vastra is a silurian." My face my have portrayed my confusion as she added. "She's a lizard woman." Without skipping a beat, an unfamiliar deep voice added

"The best one. Oh Doctor your style still hasn't changed, neither has your type." The doctors eyebrows frowned slightly, as I wondered what Vastra meant by that.

"Vastra, this is Yaz. Yaz this is my friends Vastra, and Jenny." After exchanging niceties, and quashing my awkwardness, Jenny made us tea. We told them about our adventures together, and how we met. She left out the part where she fell from the TARDIS and crashed into the train which made me giggle, to which she jabbed me softly with her elbow.

"So what brings you here?" Vastra asked, sipping her tea.

"I just wanted you to meet Yaz, check in with my old friend, show my face, you know."

"Forgive me, Doctor, but you don't usually 'pop in' on people. Am I right to presume you have sensed something odd, again?"

"You are wrong to presume, actually. I can check up on people from time to time you know. Anyway, have to go, you know people to see places to go." As she got up she lay her hand behind as if to help me up. I took her hand and it was surprisingly cold, but soft. I was concentrating too much on the strange temperature of her as she pulled me towards the door.

"You can stay, we have a spare room. It's cold and dark outside, and this city is dangerous at night." Jenny chirped as Vastra shot her a look across the cramped doorway.

"The Doctor doesn't stay, Jenny" I couldn't distinguish whether there was resentment in the statement or not, but Vastra was a hard woman to understand.

"Yaz? fancy staying in Victorian London with a lizard woman and her wife?"

"If it's no trouble?" I looked at Jenny as Vastra's blue eyes were too piercing for me to hold her gaze.

"No trouble at all." Jenny smiled and led us towards the stairs. "By the way we only have one spare room so you'll have to share."

Almost immediately the Doctor answered back "That's fine." I felt myself blush at her eagerness. But I didn't understand why.

After saying our goodnights, and Jenny making us a mug of hot chocolate each we climbed up the mountain of wooden stairs. They groaned as we stepped on each one.

"Well I suppose we can top and tail." I said as she opened the door to reveal a single double bed in the middle of the room. As with everything else in the house the bed was wooden and decorated splendidly. either side of the bed sat drawers with tiny golden locks on. I wondered what was hiding in there. The room smelt of cold air, like the kind you get in a new hotel room, and cooked apples. We lay our drinks down on either set of draws.

"Fancy a bed jump? New beds have to be jumped on, it's a rule. It's actually a law on some planets." Taking our shoes off, she held my hand again and helped me onto the bed, watching our heads as we jumped. She had a knack of making even the simplest of things like jumping on a bed, the most exciting thing ever. After a few minutes we crashed down, laying haphazardly next to each other.

"So, why were they so shocked that you had came in to say hello?" I asked

"I don't know, just every time I go to something always happens, like a mystery always crops up that is yearning to be solved. Kind of like every place I go to." She laughed, I imagine she was remembering some of the situations she had gotten in. Jenny had provided us with two white night gowns, the kind you imagine Scrouge wearing as he met his ghosts. I stood up and picked mine up.

"So is there somewhere I can change?"

"I can turn around if you want?" She stood up and faced the wall. I was strangely nervous as I took off my clothes. I felt my heart beat quickly, as I stood there exposed for the second before putting on my nightgown.

"I'm done now" She turned back around, and went to grab her one that was draped over the armchair. She took off her coat, removing the pipe from her pocket and placing it on the arm, getting ash all over her hand. She started taking off her jumper when I interjected.

"What are you doing? Do you want me to face the wall?" I laughed at her nonchalance, looking up the the ceiling.

"After 2000 years Yaz, I don't care about my body." She continued to undress. I continued to look away, but kept glancing at her. The fire highlighted her body, and accentuated it. The curve of her back from the back of her neck. I wished I was that confident. She threw on the nightdress and walked over to the bed where I stood.

"So who's top and who's tail?" She asked, with her goofy smile.

"Let's just sleep normally. It's late." We got into the bed.

"Is this weird? You don't feel weird do you? Because I can you know sleep on the chair or something?" She said, looking at me. Her eyes were a burnt umber, and this close I could smell engine oil and old pipe smoke. Like how you would expect an old man to smell.

"No of course it isn't! Why would it be?"

After a few minutes of talking she fell asleep facing me. I couldn't help but watch as her eyes fluttered, and feel her slow, gentle breathing on my face. I don't know why, but in that moment I felt happy.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up to her sprawled out in bed taking most of the room, and duvet. I was still tired as I stayed up most of the night listening to her sleep talk about monsters, and other worlds. At one point she put her arm around me in her sleep, and I didn't want it to move. It was the safest I had ever felt.

She finally awoke, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"How was your sleep?" I asked

"I didn't get much sleep with you snoring!" She laughed.

"Hey! You were the one taking up all the bed!" She stuck her tongue out to me and started to put on her clothes. This time I made sure my eyes were fixed to the ceiling. I wondered where we would go today, before quickly getting dressed.

After saying a quick goodbye to our hosts we left. The streets were frosty, laying on the street like layers of dust in an old abandoned house. The men walking around were stiff, as if they were ironed to precision. They reminded me of an old headmaster of mine. I never liked him much. He was older, and his forever sweaty forehead would shower me with every movement, like being a top lip under a runny nose. It was surprising he never got poisoned with the venom that spewed from his mouth. I'm surprised I was never poisoned from the venom in my veins when I saw him. We both shared in our mutual dislike, a common ground that we were both comfortable in knowing. These men, at least, had the excuse that they were 'born in a different time.' He on the other hand was just a bigot.

"So where does Yasmin Khan want to go today?" She beamed at me, her smile almost melting the frost around us.

"Where do you recommend?"

"I'll have a think for the perfect place. Meanwhile let's get breakfast. I think there is a bakery around here somewhere."

"Are we taking the scenic route again?"

"If you're not careful I'll leave you here." She nudged me, smirking.

We arrived at the second bakery after being thrown out of the first one. People kept looking at me, to which the Doctor asked "Why are you staring at my wife?" Granted, it did stop me getting looked at, but we were left without any food.

"Why did you say that, in there?" I asked. Usually I would have just ignored it and let it go. I've been called all sorts on the job.

"It's not right." Was all the answer I got.

Arriving at the second bakery, I told her to go in. Vastra has given her some coins which I couldn't remember the name of, in exchange for the Doctor doing a few upgrades on her house. I wondered when she did this, but with a time traveller it's not a very useful question.

As I stood outside, I could appreciate the time I was in without being distracted. Being with her was like trying to see a crowd with a spotlight in your eyes. She was blinding, and beautiful, but so were these places. It was much quieter around this area, instead of hammers I could hear the clip of hooves. Next to me there was a boy, no older than 11 selling newspapers. I hadn't been listening to what he was shouting, I was more amused by how stereotypical it was of this era. I walked up to him just as he said it. The words that made my heart drop, but flutter in excitement.

"Jack the Ripper claims 5th victim, woman brutally hacked to death." Just as I felt my jaw drop, she turned up with a brown bag of hot buns.

"Doctor read the paper" her forehead scrunched as it always did when she was thinking. She handed me the bag silently, making her hands free for picking up the paper she was reading and throwing the child a coin.

"November 9th 1888"

"What does that mean?"

"It means, Yaz we are in the eye of the storm. We are in London in the height of the Ripper murders." She started to run, and so did I. It was an occurrence with her that when she ran, she ran towards danger and I couldn't help but follow.

We arrived at Vastras house again, her knock more frantic. Jenny opened the door.

"Ello ma'aam, I didn't expect you back so soon." As we entered Vastra made an entrance worthy of a queen. Slowly gliding down the staircase, the morning light blanketing her.

"Why didn't you tell us we had landed in the Ripper murders? This is one of the greatest mysteries ever!" I saw a strange smirk on the tip of her lips.

"My apologies, Doctor, but you have been here many times and have not shown an interest." She spoke with a tone of questioning warmth.

"Didn't I? Well I guess this new gem is more curious than others. I've always wanted to know who Jack the Ripper really was. Never got around to it. What do you say Yaz?"

"Fine by me!"

Vastra walked closer to us.

"You cannot stop him, or reveal him. You know how delicate time lines are, and this is the most famous case on Earth."

Usually she would come back with some silly excuse or quip, but this time she looked down, not saying a word.

"You cannot go near this one, Doctor."

"Well we could have a look around. Come on Yaz we have work to do."


	3. Chapter 3

We got back to the TARDIS, I was exhausted from running all the way back. I guessed her hearts allowed her the luxury of not getting tired easily. She sat on the floor, picking a panel up from underneath the console. It clattering to one side as she jumped down, her head poking out the floor.

"What are you doing?" I couldn't help but be amused by how she was rummaging, throwing objects behind her like a dog digging in sand.

"I need to find it. I can't do this without it, very important."

Before I could ask what she yelled "aha got it. Look at this." She put it on her head as though it were a crown, eyes wide and pupils wider with excitement. She was a big kid, but I loved that.

"What do you think?"

"Well...its a deerstalker...quiet ...fitting?"

"You love it! Do you want one? I have plenty!"

"I'm gonna pass on that."

"Well you can be my John Watson then." She climbed back up and lifted the giant panel with ease. I couldn't help but look at her in awe as she fitted it back to the floor. I just realised, that was what the pipe was for.

"Wait, come here" I walked towards her and adjusted her hat. "Can't have you looking anything but elementary." She looked down at me and I felt my heart pound. Being this close I could see tiny lines stretching under her eyes, and how her irises were surrounded by Sacramento green. She lifted her hands on top of mine which were still grasping the ears of her hat. Her touch was cold, but soft. She then entwines her fingers with mine and moved one of my hands to her cheek and closed her eyes for a second. In that moment it felt as though everything around us had gone still, and silent, and there was just me and her in the whole universe. She dropped my hands and leaned in to my ear and whispered "later?" To which I nodded. I wasn't sure what she meant, my mind was buzzing. What was I doing? I wanted to push these feelings to the back of my mind, and that moment even further. What felt like decades ago my mum had asked if we were seeing each other, I remember snapping back. Had I felt something towards her since then? With my job I hadn't even had time to think about a boyfriend, let alone what ever this was. This was a strange world, one that conflicted morals of my religion that I had been brought up with. How could I keep my religion with all that I have seen? But how could I throw away where I came from and all that I have known? My trail of thought was broken with a faint "Come on Yaz" from the door. With all the traffic in my head, I hoped 'later' wouldn't come


	4. Chapter 4

3rd person perspective.

Yaz's stomach rumbled. As she looked down, the doctor spun her back towards the TARDIS. "Let's eat before we do anything" she said, pushing Yaz inside. "What do you fancy? I'm sure I can find the kitchen in here somewhere. It keeps moving."

"Moving?"

"She keeps redesigning herself without telling me. Very annoying."

"She?"

"All ships are a she, keep up Yaz"

They walked down a long dark tunnel, the only light being a dim blood orange colour, which trailed along the ceiling. Both women carried with them disfigured shadows, obscuring their forms into dark beings which followed them along the corridor. If she wasn't next to the doctor, Yaz thought, she would be scared.

"How big is this?" She asked, still not being able to grasp how something so large could fit into something so small.

"Very big. Well I say very big, more like infinite. I say that because I don't really know. But what I do know is that I am famished! Please just let us eat!" The doctor shouted, and just as they turned the corner they found an archway. Yaz could vaguely see the shape of an old fashioned oven, with a small door which she presumed led to the furnace.

"Thanks, sexy" The Doctor whispered to herself, just quiet enough so that Yaz wouldn't hear. "So what do you want?" Yaz asked, as she looked around. She admired all of the furniture, it looked antique, but she knew there was no such thing as antique when it came to time travel.

"Can we make biscuits? We can make gingerbread men shaped like us. Or jammy dodgers, love a good jammy dodger." The Doctor had already found out the jam from an overhead cupboard. She suppressed the urge to open, and eat it with her fingers, not that she could open the jar. She, of course, had already tried.

"For breakfast?" Yaz laughed at how excited she was about her jar of jam. She gently took the jam and saw the slight disappointment in the doctors eyes, so easily popped open the lid and gave it back to her to snack on. The Doctor frowned at the lid of the jar for not opening when she tried.

They decided on pancakes as the TARDIS was only stoked up on some essentials from a few different worlds, and strawberry jam.

"Look at this, Michael Jordan taught me how to do this at one of his parties." She turned with her back to the mixing bowl and threw two eggs over her head, expecting them to hit the target. They smashed into the wall, causing Yaz to bend over laughing.

As the doctor began to flip the mix, after eventually getting it done, Yaz patted her on the back with a hand of flour. "Well done." She laughed, the Doctor ending up sticking the pancake to the ceiling as she looked at her back. Putting the pan back on the hob, still with a little batter inside, she picked up an egg and threw it at Yaz, hitting her shoulder, and leaving a dark stain on her denim jacket.

"Oh my god." She took off her jacket and threw it to the side, grabbing a hand full of flour and blowing it at her friend. The room was covered in a cloud of flour, blocking Yaz's view as another egg came cascading onto her thigh.

"This is war Yasmin Khan." The Doctor laughed, somehow finding a sieve in the foggy room, and placing it on her head like a child's battle helmet. The fight came to an end, after using up nearly all the stock of eggs. Yaz was breathless with laughter. She fell back, tripping over her own soggy foot. Her hands clasped in front of her, grabbing the only thing they could reach, which happened to be the doctors yellow braces. They fell in slow motion, the Doctor managing to cup Yaz's head before it hit the hard glass floor. She winced as her knuckles clattered under their combined weights. They were both gasping for the air that they lost from laughing. The doctor's blonde hair brushing against Yaz's cheek. Her hands, still entangled behind Yaz's head. The doctor's hearts beat faster, almost coming out of her chest, something that hadn't happened to this body before. She looked down, from Yaz's eyes, to her lips as they quivered. They were so close that they were breathing each other in. Yaz slowly took her hands from the doctors braces and ran her fingers down the doctors shoulders, pulling on her coat, the Doctor softly lay Yaz's head down and finished removing it. She didn't know where to lay her hands or, for that matter, what was happening. Neither did her companion. She weaved her hands into Yaz's and looked back into her eyes. The chocolate brown melting to honey, glazing over as the Doctor got closer to her. It was as if in that moment time had stopped for both of them. Yaz closed the gap between them, their lips meeting. They kissed deeper, and faster until their kiss was all teeth. Yaz felt the doctors hot breath in her mouth, and tasted old pipe smoke, and peppermint. She hungered for more. Placing her hands on the doctors hips, she slid her legs from under neath and wrapped them around the doctor's waist, spinning her over so she was beneath her. The doctor felt helpless, locked into Yasmin Khan's thighs, She yearned for more of her.

Yaz started to kiss down her neck, biting down while the doctor let out an almost inaudible moan. The doctor closed her eyes as she felt goosebumps all over her skin. She reached for Yaz's belt and pulled her down harder on top of her, crushing her body to hers.

All of a sudden a sharp alarm sounded, making both women jump. They hadn't realised that the room was slowly filling with black smoke. The doctor groaned in frustration. "Okay okay we are alarmed, you can shut it off now" she shouted. The alarm quietened. She jumped up, moving Yaz aside to turn the hobs off. Yaz didn't know what to say, what had just happened, she thought?

"You have a fire alarm in your space ship?" She asked awkwardly.

"Fire safety Yaz, if I'm gonna invite a pyrovile to tea I can't not have one. The insurance would be through the roof, and the roof is never ending." The Doctor laughed, not knowing either what had just happened. All she knew was she had never felt as strongly about anyone in a while as she did for Yasmin Khan.


	5. Chapter 5

"So, let's just fly to Whitechapel, then we can figure out a plan."

"Doctor, when do our plans ever work out? Like never"

" 'Bit harsh. What about my plan to run around the New New London eye to catch the mutant lion thing? That worked" The Doctor said proudly, flicking a switch on the console.

"One, that was my plan." The Doctor sulked as she remembered, but she would never agree. "And two, you ended up riding it."

"Wanna fly this time?" The Doctor asked, changing the subject quickly.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Come here, I'll show you."

Yaz stepped in front of her, trying not to get too close, she still needed time to process what had happened earlier.

"Push that leaver thing…Not that one!" The doctor grabbed Yaz's hand which was positioned on top of a blue handled leaver, pulling it back. "That one"

"Now what?" The doctor reached for the screen, her arm almost resting on Yaz's shoulder. She pressed a few buttons then recoiled her arm. "Now turn that wheel…and blast off…never saying that again."

The TARDIS started to rock back and forth, almost as if it was jammed. Sparks came splashing from the console, making the sound of a car that wouldn't start.

"No! What's wrong? Come on!" The Doctor ran around, fiddling with different buttons and attachments.

"What's happened? Did I do something? I'm so sorry"

"No Yaz, it's not you, she's just being stubborn. I don't get it, we did everything we usually do. Why won't you take us to Whitechapel…" She trailed off, realising why she couldn't get it to start.

"She knows where we want to go and she won't let us. Come on, what is it with this time that people don't want us to see? First Vastra, now you. Why did you allow us here in the first place?" Yaz stared at the Doctor, smiling to herself. She liked it when she talked to the TARDIS, it was like when her dad talked to his car. He used to insist that if you thanked it for getting you somewhere you'd always get to the next place safely.

"Can't we just get out and walk?" She asked.

"Oh yeah. That was my next plan."

They headed towards the door, but it was locked. Yaz wasn't one for panicking, not with what she had seen and done over the last 2 years, and as her time as a police officer, but she started to feel scared. There was something happening, and the place that should be the safest, felt the most dangerous.

"What are you doing? You can't just lock us in! We just wanted to look around, I'm not going to change anything!" The engine, what Yaz supposed was the engine, started to run. The sound of crunching gears began and stopped as suddenly. The Doctor reached for the door again, this time opening it. She slowly stepped out, and back in again.

"I do know that this is 1891 not 1888. The air tastes different, plus it's snowing, and it's New York! You didn't put any effort into trying to convince me!" A line of frustration appeared between the doctors eyebrows. She didn't like not being in control.

"Wait, Doctor, 1891 New York? Wasn't there some murder there that was connected or something?" Yaz asked. After a second of thinking the Doctor beamed, her excitement filling her up like a jar of angry bees. She took Yaz's cheeks and kissed her forehead, pulling her back like a trophy.

"You're brilliant Yasmin Khan! And you, my sexy thing are amazing."

"Sexy thing? Do I need to you know, pop outside and give you both some alone time?" Yaz raised her eyebrow slightly, smirking at the look of embarrassment on the Doctor's face.

"Why do people keep saying that? You call one ship sexy and it's as if I'm married- again. Okay what do we need? Sonic? Yep. Paper? Yep. Yaz? Yep. We're ready, let's go."

The streets were lined with pushcarts, upon them rows of fruits and vegetables. Women were dressed in long dresses, with large scarves draped across their shoulders. The Doctor remembered being here before, and seeing the danger of the empire state building. She never looked at pigs in the same way.

It was louder there than in London, people's voices almost echoed around each block. She looked at Yaz who was walking over to a stall selling apples. The Doctor reached for her psychic paper, lifting it up to the vendor.

"Apple inspector. Can I take a sample to, err, inspect?" The vendor nodded, still staring at the paper whilst handing her an apple. "This looks a good one, I need to take it back for analysis." She turned and started to walk, followed by Yaz. She passed her the apple.

"How does that even work?" She asked. Pointing to the paper.

"So I think of something, show them the paper and they see what I want them to. So Yaz, give me a job, or anything, I'll show you."

"Okay- a police officer. Nice and easy."

The Doctor looked at her paper, flushing red. All she could see was a picture of Yaz. "Nope, not working. Shame that. Temperamental." She quickly folded it back up, being careful not to show Yaz what was on it. "We need a base. How about there? 'Jimmy's Motel' looks brilliant." She bounded towards the motel.

"Can we have a room? A nice one, not one that has a shared bathroom. I had that once, although Margaret was very nice about it, she bought me a cup of tea in the bath." The man who stood behind the counter was middle aged, and wore a ragged shirt with an old waistcoat, and a tilted bowler hat. He didn't look up from his newspaper. "Excuse me, sir? Can we have a room?" He didn't stir. The Doctor noticed the bell on the counter and started tapping it repeatedly until he looked up.

"Yeah, okay." He turned around and grabbed a key. They could smell whiskey, and old food. His stubble decorated in a small piece of egg underneath his lip. "I don't care what you get up to as long as you pay up. Rooms upstairs, number 315. Pay when you leave." He looked back down at his newspaper. Taking it as their cue, the pair headed up the stairs.

The walls were painted a sickly green and has various stains covering it. There were 2 single beds, parted by a cabinet. The Doctor turned and locked the door.

"Okay, base camp. Let's write everything we know, down and find out where to start from."


	6. Chapter 6

The Doctor wrote the date on the wall, remembering it from looking at the newspaper downstairs. It was April 23rd, a day before the alleged Ripper murder. She scribbled frantically as Yaz read from a Wikipedia article, the Doctor correcting some things as she wrote. They both had forgotten their kiss for the moment, immersed in their research. Yaz looked down at the doctors muddy boots, hoping that that was not her bed that she was standing on. For the first time in a long time Yaz felt like a police officer again, although she was never trusted with anything as important as this. She felt a pang of anger thinking back to her days as a police officer. How she was always given the cases nobody else wanted. She was just as good as the rest, she didn't understand why they never gave her a chance.

She thought back to what the Doctor has said yesterday, that she was like her Doctor Watson, and how apt that comparison felt now.

"Okay so tomorrow Carrie Brown will be murdered in her lodging house. We need to find her and see if she knows anything." The doctor jumped down off the bed, her coat flying upwards like a cape.

"I thought we were not going to interfere?" Yaz smirked, she knew the Doctor too well to have believed that.

They ran down the long snowy street, the ground crunching underfoot. The dark night sky casting a blue glow on the ground. The Doctor routinely glanced back, making sure Yaz was still behind her. She didn't trust this time, or this place. She sometimes forgot how human her companions were, that their single heart didn't give them much stamina. Donna would have hated this, complaining about how she felt like she was going to fall over. The doctor thought about her other friend, Amy. Amy had been thrown back to this period, in this city. The doctor thought how she could never see her again, how delicate timelines really are, especially where the angels were concerned.

"Doctor!" The doctor stopped, skidding slightly on the ice. "The hotel! East river!" Yaz grabbed the cuff of her coat and ran towards it, this time the doctor was the one trailing. They stopped in front of a grey 4 story building, with dirty, off white window covers.

"I hate snow, it makes everything seem eerie. Plus I never trust a snowman." She pointed to a tiny half melted snowman on the curb of the street. Yaz thought it was a sad looking thing, with droopy eyes, the Doctor found it terrifying.

"So, Yaz, do we go in?" She turned to her companion. This time she didn't want to be the one to decide. She knew how Yaz was treated when she was a police officer, never getting to make any decision, or being a part of important cases. She remembered how deflated Yaz seemed when she talked about the time she was made to patrol a shopping center when a more junior officer had been assigned a murder. She wanted Yaz to see how much more import she really was. This was her case.

"Let's do it!"

They arrived at a reception. There was an elderly woman behind the coffee stained counter, her face being hidden with a long sagging head scarf.

"We don't have rooms for your kind here." Her shrill voice shook.

"Our kind?" The doctor looked at Yaz, then back at the woman.

"It's disgusting. Holding hands, walking into MY establishment." She slammed her hands down, rattling the pot of pens next to her.

"Okay. One, we are friends. And two we don't want a room, we are looking for Carrie brown. And three I was holding her coat so I didn't slip in the snow." Yaz stared out the woman, not really being able to determine where her eyes were. After a few seconds of silence, the woman looked down. "Top floor, room 427. Once you've got what you came for, get out."

"Charming." The Doctor whispered.


	7. Chapter 7

az knocked frantically. "Carrie?" There was no answer. "Carrie we just want to have a talk." Again, nothing stirred behind the door. Yaz tried the door handle. "It's locked."

"Well of course it is Yaz, a place like this, nobody would leave their door unlocked." The doctor ran up and shoulder barged the door, hurting her arm. "Well that looks easier in the movies." She said rubbing her arm.

"Why don't you just sonic it?"

"Oh yeah." Maybe it was that she wanted to impress Yaz, or that she wanted to save Carrie Brown, but for the first time the doctor forgot she had her sonic. She retrieved it and unlocked the door, following Yaz inside.

"Carrie? Are you in?" The darkness flooded the small room, the only light coming from the stars outside the window. The Doctor crept to a lamp, the shade littered with holes, and turned it on. In front of them, on the bed, lay a woman. Her curly hair like a blonde waterfall down her face. Her mouth was open and lay on a small puddle of dribble. Black makeup framed her eyelids, smudged and haphazardly applied. In the woman's hand was a bottle of ,what seemed to be, whiskey, that dangled almost touching the floor. Her snoring grew louder the longer they stared at her.

"What do we do now?" Yaz asked, feeling awkward looking at the unconscious lady.

"Carrie!" The doctors voice booming and assertive, but Carrie Brown didn't even flinch. "Well we can't wake her, and we can't leave, so we will just have to wait. Can we make snow angels?"

"It's about 2am, and there's no central heating yet." Yaz walked to the open window, brushing the flowing net curtains away. She grabbed a handful of snow, only a few seconds afterwards realising how cold it actually was, and threw it at her friend. The doctor ducked just in time. She bent down and picked up the snowball from behind her, being hit with another one as she did. She threw it at Yaz, instead it hit the sleeping Carrie on her forehead. They both gasped, holding their breath to see if she woke.

Her eyes fluttered. She opened them slightly, seeing blurred figures and light. Where was I, she thought before remembering hiking up the stairs. She hadn't had a successful evening. Business was slow when it snowed. She felt wet, and hoped she hadn't thrown up over herself again. She groaned, her voice husky and thick with alcohol. Carrie suddenly remembered the two figures and pushed herself up.

"You're wasting your time, here. I don't know what you want but get out." She wiped her forehead.

"We've just come to ask a few questions." Yaz interjected, seeing Carrie was inspecting the slush in her hand.

"It's 2 in the morning. You break into my room and want to ask me questions? Who are you?"

The doctor sat next to her on the bed.

"I'm the Doctor, and this is Yaz. We just want to ask if there is anyone you know a bit dodgy that you have come across in the last few days?"

"Lady, I don't need no doctor, and my business is dealing with creepy men." Yaz wondered if she was like this when she was sober. Yaz felt a certainty sympathy for her. She saw a lost woman, trying to get money whatever way she could. It wasn't her that was a mess, it was the system she lived in. Yaz thought about what was going to happen to her tomorrow, and how monstrous it was, and how they had the power to stop it, they couldn't just leave her.

"Listen, you don't know us, and it must be weird waking up to us in your room, like I'd be 100 times more freaked out than you currently are right now..." Something clicked. "This has happened to you before." The Doctor gazed at Yaz, knowing what she was about to deduce. "What's happened Carrie, who's after you? We can help."

"Nobody can." She crackled. "Now leave."


	8. Chapter 8

"We aren't leaving. We can help you if you let us. I know you're probably scared, and you think you're alone but you're not." Yaz loved it when the Doctor spoke in such a soft tone, like her voice was made of silk. She wrapped people up with her words, and kept them safe.

"You don't even know me, why do you want to help? Did he send you to mock me?"

"Did who send us Carrie?" Yaz asked. This woman knew more than she was letting on to, and they needed that information to try to save her. Carrie Brown slumped back down into bed, picking up the cold bottle of whiskey she had let go of earlier. The familiar smell of cheap alcohol made her feel nauseous as she put the bottle to her lips. After taking a long gulp, wiping her mouth with her bare palm she offered the bottle to the Doctor.

The Doctor sensed an olive branch and she wasn't going to turn it down, not when a woman's life was at risk. She took the bottle and took a sip, resisting the urge to cough it back out. Carrie nodded towards Yaz who, took an even longer gulp.

"He came to see me the other day. I was on the sidewalk, a few blocks from here. I brought him back here, which is when he got all strange. Started preaching to me about God, and grabbing me by the neck. I mean I've had people do that before and worse but there was something about his eyes. I managed to grab an empty bottle and hit him with it, that's when he said he'd...gut me and to watch my back. He sounded British as well."

She took another deep swig. "So yeah, if two British women can protect me from a psycho then go ahead. But don't come cryin' to me if you get hurt."

"Can you tell us what he looked like?" Yaz asked, sitting on the end of the bed.

"Tall, white, he had dirty brown hair. His clothes were clean. He had this weird leather watch on. Real thick. And he didn't have a beard."

"Do you want us to stay with you tonight?" The doctor asked, placing a hand on her arm.

"No. I just want to sleep." They left, the Doctor using her sonic to lick the door on the way out.

They got back to their hotel, writing what they had learned next to their other findings. The Doctor yawned, accidentally dropping the pen.

"We've has a long day, shall we get some rest? By the way, you're having the muddy bed." Yaz had already jumped under the cleaner duvet. The only clothing she removed was her jacket, which she could have swore the Doctor had slightly shrunk after washing the flour and egg off it. She didn't want to undress, it would send out signals, signals that she didn't want to think about. She was going to unravel one of the biggest mysteries in the world, but still she couldn't stop thinking about The Doctor. How her brow wrinkled when she was thinking, or how she smelt of everything at once. How, when she ran with her in the snow, she had grabbed Yaz's hand. Yaz eventually fell asleep, urging herself not to dream of that wonderful woman.

The Doctor awoke, she guessed it was about 6am, and she was right. Yaz was still asleep. She didn't want to wake her, so she crept around, looking for where she had put her boots. She had forgotten to take her coat off last night, the hood making an imprint on her cheek. She couldn't started thinking about what Carrie had said. How she had described him, there was something on the tip of her tongue, something she couldn't remember, and that was one f the things she hated. The Doctor looked down at the streets, the snow had melted somewhat over night, the rain turning it to a slush. She looked down at her slightly showing calves. Brilliant, she thought sarcastically. She stood in front of the wall which was patterned with her writing, studying each word. There was something there, something she could see but couldn't see.


	9. Chapter 9

"Yaz?" The doctor shook her slightly, whispering to her. "Yaz we need to leave."

"I really need to shower." Her voice groggy.

"We only have a few minutes. We have a lot to do today." The doctor whipped off the covers from Yaz, making her frown.

"Can I go shower in the TARDIS and meet you back at Carrie's lodgings?"

"It's dangerous around here Yaz. I'll come with you." She placed her hand on Yaz's arm. Yaz slid up, entwining her hand with the Doctors. She reached out and tucked a stray piece of hair behind the doctors head, cupping her face with her free hand.

"I'll be fine."

The doctor placed the key around Yaz's neck, warning her for the 5th time to be careful. They said a quick goodbye and went their separate ways.

The Doctor headed towards East River, not knowing what she was going to do. If she saved her then she would ruin the timeline, but could she stand by and let an innocent woman die so horrendously? It was the hardest thing about being a Time Lord, deciding who can be saved.

She trudged in the snow towards the hotel, her boots sodden. The snow always reminded her of Rose, which is why she tried never to land in the winter, not that it was winter now. "Snow in April?" She muttered to herself. Suddenly it all clicked into place, like the second hand hitting midnight on New Years. Like the final turn of a rubix cube, showing every uniformed colour. Her brow furrowed, eyes wild as she realised the choice she would have to make. Before she could think of anything else she found herself sprinting back towards the TARDIS. Yasmin Khan needed her, and in that second, nobody else mattered. She hit the blue door, she shook the handles hysterically shouting for her companion, the doors wouldn't open. She clicked her fingers on both hands with no avail. "Why won't you let me in?!" She demanded, knowing her time machine couldn't talk back. She felt that Yaz was in danger, and in her frustration punched the wooden police box door, screaming in pain. "Okay, that was stupid. Wow anger, I'm a puncher, don't think I've been one of those before. It's quite exciting finding out something new about yourself." She looked around and seeing nobody was there, remembered she was alone. She began to run back to East River, even with her hearts she was out of breath, her lungs aching from the cold air. She ran up the wooden stairs, slamming her palms down on the bannister. She reached Carrie Brown's room, this time using her sonic immediately and kicking open the door. "Yaz?" But standing in front of her was not Yaz.

"Hello, again." His slimy voice licking its way down her spine. "I owe you a thank you."


	10. Chapter 10

"I knew it was you. Snowing in April, meaning something had changed the atmospheric pressure, something that shouldn't be here. How did you do it?" The Doctor stood scowling at him in contempt, her hand clutching her sonic.

"Are you not going to say nice to see me again?" He smirked, removing his top hat and tossing it on the lumpy bed. "No, I thought not. I was so... naive when we first met, so weak. And now" He raised him arms, smiling. "Well now I can do what I want. Kill whatever I want."

"How did you get here? How can you kill?"

"When your little friend, well I guess not so much your friend anymore, where is he by the way? Back to where he belongs, hopefully. When he shot me, he sent me back here, not here exactly. He sent me back to London. The blast must have knocked out my implant or short circuited it because I found myself practising my favourite hobby again."

"Where's Yaz? If you have hurt her in any way I will take you somewhere that will make you beg for death."

"Fighting talk, Doctor. I like it. You can feel the rage inside of you, igniting the blood in your veins. Beautiful isn't it?"

"You really don't want to see me angry."

He took a step towards her, tracing her lip with his thumb.

"Oh but I do." He kissed her on the cheek, nauseating her.

"So be it." She managed to spit through gritted teeth. The Doctor could feel the anger of all 13 regenerations inside of her, as if they were all trying to rip their way out. She grasped his arm behind his back whilst stamping on the back of his knee, causing him to keel over.

"You WILL tell me where my friends are, where Yaz AND Carrie are, or I will break your limbs one by one. And trust me, I'm a doctor, which helps me to know how to break a bone very easily."

He laughed, struggling to get out of her grip.

"Well I can tell you 50% of what you want. That whore is under the sheets, ironic actually. She lived off getting men into her bed, and she was killed by a man in bed. Even you have to be impressed." She simultaneously stamped down again on his knee, and twisted his arm, both of them cracking at the same time. It was the sound of ripping a drumstick of a roast chicken. He wailed in agony as she let him go, turning towards the bed. Under the covers lay Carrie Brown, her mutilated body naked and red. Her hair was matted with blood, almost like deep maroon dreadlocks, there was no sign of her youthful blonde curls anymore.

"The things about me is that I've lived a long time, I've seen so much death, but each time it still feels as though it were the first time. And the other thing about me, about this version of me, is that once I lose my temper, as you have just asked me to do, I will not show mercy. Now tell me where Yaz is!" She ran up to him, kicking his face with her brown boot. The Doctor remembered all the times she had seen Yaz smile, all the times they had accidentally touched, all the glances when she thought she wasn't looking, she remembered the kiss and the fire alarm. This was fuel for her rage. She stopped kicking him, his face almost unrecognisable now. She bend down towards him. "Tell me!"

He laughed again, spitting blood out of him mouth.

"Laying in the snow on the streets of New York City." The Doctor started to run out of the room. "You won't save her, Doctor. She is my finest work!" The doctor pointed her sonic behind her as she ran, slamming and locking the door of the room.

She felt panicked. She couldn't lose Yaz, not here, not like this. This was all her fault, she thought. This happens with all of them. She ran towards the TARDIS, hatching a plan as she sprinted. "Please let me in this time." She whispered to herself. She clicked her fingers again and the doors flew open. She ran towards Yaz's room grabbing some of her clothes and heading back to the console.

"Just this once, please. If you can trace her DNA from her clothes and take me to the version of her in this time I would be so grateful. You can do it, I know you can, you're brilliant." The familiar sound of keys on a radiator started, and she smiled


	11. Chapter 11

She landed in an alley way. Bending down, she touched the snow beneath her, smelling it's scent. "Same time, and place that's good." She crept forward. "Yaz?" She saw a form laying down in the red snow. "Yaz?" She was cold to the touch, unmoving, and dull eyed. The Doctor picked up her bare body, carrying her to the TARDIS. "This is all my fault." She whispered, a warm tear falling onto Yaz's forehead. Placing her down, the Doctor searched around the TARDIS, finally pulling out a silver pad, decorated with swirls and shapes. She held it to Yaz's heart and spoke a language so old that the TARDIS could not decipher it. Nothing happened. She repeated this. Again, nothing happened. "Come on. Please" The Doctor wiped her face with her shoulder. She felt helpless. She threw the pad across the room, picking up Yaz and bringing her into her lap. She held her tighter with every passing minute. "I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry." Her hand rested on her cheek. "Yasmin Khan. I love you. Don't leave me." She hadn't cried in a while, since her 11th incarnation watched Titanic for the first time- Amy had made him. But in reality over real life events, she hadn't cried for centuries. Her tears hit Yaz's bloodied collarbone, they started to glow a soft bumblebee yellow. The deep cut vanished, the spot of skin melting from grey to a warm brown. The Doctor was sure of what she had to do, what she needed to do for Yaz. She lay her down, and hovered her hands over Yaz's body.

"Id give my life for you 10 times over, Yaz. And I will prove it." Her hands burst with energy, the same misty yellow of her tears. The Doctor started to scream in agony, still her hands were unmoving. The light surrounded Yaz, almost levitating her. The deep cuts over her body, the broken bones, the bruises, they were all fading like a distant nightmare. Her skin brightened, her hair untangled as the dried blood disappeared. The Doctor screamed again. She felt as though her body was ripping apart, as though every bone was breaking, every muscle was tearing, but she was worth it. The Doctor fell to her knees, teeth clenched until she couldn't handle the pain any longer. Her hands reverted back to normal, the regeneration energy receding. She collapsed in exhaustion, not knowing whether her sacrifice was worth it. As she drifted in and out of consciousness all she could think of was seeing her friend again, seeing the woman she loved one last time


End file.
